Some have said that Derby City Council leader Councillor Ranjit Banwait “does not have control or authority over his councillors”.

The newly published Corporate Peer Challenge report says that some Derby city councillors have a “poor attitude” to women, don’t listen to professional advice from female staff and even threaten to sack people if they do not get their own way.

It also criticised the behaviour of a minority of councillors, who have been known to shout and bang on tables at both male and female staff.

Derby City Council house, Corporation Street

The report says some councillors did not understand the roles and boundaries between elected members and council officers, which led to “inappropriate interference in decision-making”.

The peer review team says it had heard “some positive views about the majority of councillors” but this did not apply to all elected members. The report says that “more effort needs to be made in improving working relationships across the membership of the council”.

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And it warns that, by not taking action, the “already fragile levels of staff morale will be affected further”.

Councillor Alan Graves, UKIP group leader on the council, said: “This is a damning report, yet another on top of others. There is so much wrong that it is hard to know which section to comment on.

UKIP councillor Alan Graves.

“I have been highlighting over several years the lack of joined-up leadership and this report supports that view.

“The Labour pledges do not link with strategic budgetary plans, were not agreed with opposition parties and highlight a disjointed and incoherent council.

“I don't remember the council ever being this low in terms of stature. Real changes are required.”

Similar sentiments are expressed by councillor Matthew Holmes, Conservative group leader on the city council.

He said: “This report confirms many of the serious governance issues that exist under the current Labour administration, many of which we have been highlighting and challenging through scrutiny commissions and in public for some time now.

Matthew Holmes, Conservative leader on Derby City Council

“But challenge from the opposition won’t change Labour’s approach if, ultimately, they aren’t willing to change it themselves. Finding ways to force that change is the only way.”

Mr Holmes said that the negative culture at the council was “totally unacceptable and tarnishes every elected member and the council’s reputation”.

He said: “It’s my long held view that Labour imposed a culture of political bullying of council officers from day one of their administration. Their current leader, Ranjit Banwait, has failed to deal with it and clearly does not have control of or authority over his councillors.

“Under my leadership, I hope that it’s recognised that the Conservative group strongly upholds the standards expected of elected members and respects council officers. We are committed to transforming the governance and transparency of this authority. We believe that the whole organisation and its culture needs a reboot and that has to start with the political group in control.”

The 16-page peer review

The report was compiled by elected members and officers from other local authorities in June and since then it has been amended several times.

Mr Holmes said: “We understand the original’s draft was even more damning compared with what was released. You really do have to wonder just how bad that original draft was if what has been released is the sugar-coated version.

“Moving forward, we are also very concerned about the lack of strategic leadership within the council and the significant senior officer exits that have occurred and are to come. That leaves a vacuum that could easily be filled with more overt or direct control from the politicians rather than professional officers.”

Ruth Skelton, Liberal Democrat leader on Derby City Council

Councillor Ruth Skelton, Lib Dem group leader on the city council, said: "I very much welcome the fact that officers have begun to speak out about the abuse and bullying they have been subjected to.

"It’s not just officers who are subjected to this sort of behaviour, councillors are on the receiving end too. The problem lies with a small group of obnoxious individuals. The council’s organisational culture needs radical change."

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The uneasy relationship between Labour councillors and opposition councillors was also criticised as being “fraught and are not cordial” with “room for improvement”.

The report suggests that decision-making appeared to be “inconsistent and not inclusive”, and that some decisions “are often not made in the light of best evidence available but in order to score political points”.

Derby City Council leader councillor Ranjit Banwait

It was recommended that the council seeks external support to improve member-to-member relationships and member-to-officer roles and responsibilities.

Overall, the report says the city council needs to address a series of “significant challenges” if it is to make progress and deliver on behalf of residents, communities and businesses.

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The report was compiled by a team of eight people, who spent four days on site at the council in June where they spoke to more than 160 staff, councillors and business leaders and gathered information from 40 council meetings.

The team criticises the council’s commitment to six “super pledges”, launched in April 2017, suggesting they needed clarification on how they would be resourced and delivered. It cites the ambition for Derby to become the cleanest English city within four years but adds “it does not appear the resources follow this priority and so it is difficult to show how this ambition will be achieved in the timescale proposed”.

Derby city councillor Baggy Shanker said it had been a 'challenging year' for the council

Councillor Baggy Shanker, Derby City Council cabinet member for finance and governance, said it had been a challenging year for the council but he added “he was confident we’ve turned a corner”.

He said: “The issues the council has faced and continues to face stretch back over many years and many different political administrations.

“We have acted quickly to prepare a corporate improvement plan, which addresses the main themes from the report.

“It is the responsibility of all councillors across every political party to deliver against the actions included in our improvement plan.

“Challenge is healthy and, as the elected representatives of the public, it’s up to councillors across all parties to make sure we do set challenging targets to achieve the very best for Derby.”

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He said that, as part of the improvement plan, all elected members would be provided with training and support to ensure "collaborative working" between fellow councillors and also between officers and councillors.

Mr Shanker added: “There will be plenty of time for party politics in the lead-up to May’s elections.”

The 16-page report also praises the commitment of councillors and staff and says they want to do the best for residents and achieve good partnership working. But it adds that the priorities of the authority and its vision are “not specific enough for people to understand what Derby City Council is trying to achieve”.